Authentic writing from the gut - the studio of a self-taught writer

I’m reading Elements of Wit by Benjamin Errett. It’s a very interesting book with some surprising stories in it. I’ll write a longer blog post about it by the end of the week. In the meantime, here is something that most writers will appreciate: a witty dedication.

“To my children, Helena and Theodore, without whose never-failing sympathy and encouragement this book would have been finished in half the time.*

*And P.G. Wodehouse, from whom this dedication is borrowed.”

– Benjamin Errett, Elements of Wit

Also, a couple of fun quotes.

“For years a secret shame destroyed my peace –
I’d not read Eliot, Auden or MacNeice.
But now I think a thought that brings me hope
Neither had Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope.”

– Justin Richardson, Take Heart, Illiterates: An Epigram

“I used to think that the brain was the most fascinating part of the body. Then I realized, look who’s telling me that.”

– Emo Philips

If you have the time, I recommend you read the whole book. It might not make you as witty as Oscar Wilde or Winston Churchill, but it will give you some good laughs.